HIND-HUNTING. 159 



experience of the deer under every circum- 

 stance, and his opinion is therefore of value. 

 A stag defends himself with antler and 

 hoof, striking and kicking (at bay), he never 

 bites ; in this respect deer are like sheep. 

 Stags and hinds live separate, except in the 

 rutting time ; herds of stags keep together, 

 and herds of hinds. 



At the season when the stags drop their 

 horns the stags separate from each other. 

 Later, when calving, the hinds separate and 

 are seen alone, or but a few together. 

 The seasons on Exmoor seem later than 

 those mentioned by ancient writers on 

 the chase ; the stags do not get their full 

 heads till later. As with other animals, so 

 their ways are local, and these writers 

 doubtless obtained their information in places 

 with a warmer climate than the exposed 

 moors, at a time when the red deer 

 were found in every county. This must be 

 the reason that the date of the antlers 

 becoming full on Exmoor is later than 



